Cross axis joints are known that include a central ball joining two pivot pins (stud ends). Such ball-and-socket joints make possible a controlled movement of two adjacent components in relation to one another. The central ball joint is mounted in a bearing shell which is supported within a housing. The ball and pivot pin structure is hollow providing a ball sleeve for receiving a bolt.
A cross axis joint is a ball-joint especially designed to carry loads in a radial direction and transfer such loads to a mating part by clamping force and friction. Typically, a two-sided device (connection part frame with two flanges) is touching the respective surfaces of the inner sleeve. The devices (flanges) have a through hole and during the assembly process a bolt will be put through the device and the inner diameter or through hole of the cross axis joint. After that the bolt will be tightened up, so that the contact friction (between end face and connection piece) will keep the joint from moving. Typically the cross axis joint is used as a damper joint (housing is pressed in into the damper) or as a pivot joint as replacement for a bushing at the control arm subframe connections at the front suspension and in addition as a knuckle joint in the rear suspension. Washers and built up inner sleeves are known to be provided between the connection part and the sleeve end face, but they show the disadvantage that either the washers are pressed in, into the inner diameter and reduce therefore the crush load, or increase the outer diameter or the built up ones also reduce the crush load for a certain diameter. Currently it is difficult to seal cross-axis joints, this is primarily due to lack of sealing areas and “protection” of the mating part surface. Common current designs have ferrulls (washers) that are pressed into the inner bore of the sleeve. This requires the bore to be oversized (typically 2 mm larger than the bolt diameter) which determines the cross-axis opening requirement and sleeve thickness. There may be a quality concern that the washers could fall off during delivery to the customer.
US patent application publication 2004146338 (also DE10202022) discloses ball-and-socket joints including a cross axis type. One component is connected via a bolt accommodated within the hole of the ball sleeve to another component that is fastened on the outside of the joint housing. The bearing shell is fixed by two closing rings in the axial direction of the longitudinal axis of the pivot pin. For fixing the bearing shell, these closing rings have a cylindrical outer contour and an inner side to the outer contour of the bearing shell. The sealing boot connects to the housing at the outer contour of the closing ring. The outer surface of each pivot pin end has a sealing area with a contour for receiving a bellows element.
DE10362009 discloses a ball-and-socket joint for automobiles and aircraft undercarriages with a housing having a main section and ring parts. The housing has an internal section or ball sleeve with a bearing surface and a bearing shell in the housing main section. The outer surface of each pivot pin end of the ball sleeve has a sealing area with a contour for receiving a bellows element.
The shaping of an outer surface of each pivot pin end of the ball sleeve with a sealing area contour for receiving a bellows element has disadvantages. The shaping or framing of the pivot ends lowers the material properties and lowers the ability to withstand clamping forces. The bolt is otherwise sized so as to provide a clamping force (e.g. to generate friction between the bolt and surface and a part clamped to the ball sleeve) that is enough such that radial loads can be withstood without slipping. The ball sleeve must withstand clamping forces of the bolt without yielding or crushing. As such the amount of surface area of the ball sleeve end face needed in contact with the clamped part needs to become larger. As such, washers have been used to increase this area for clamping. Washers can be used at an end face of the ball sleeve and these may extend to the interior of the sleeve. These then limit the bolt size that can fit through the sleeve opening or the construction must be oversized.